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Muhammed Lawal
Muhammed 'King Mo' Lawal is the former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion, currently competing for Bellator and Rizin. Fall From Grace In Strikeforce He most recently attempted to defend his title for the first time against Rafael Cavalcante. Cavalcante defeated Lawal by knockout due to elbows in the first round to win the title. During the fight, Lawal sustained a pair of bad knee injuries. He was forced to undergo surgery that kept him out of the sport for at least nine months. He was next set to return against undefeated prospect Roger Gracie but Gracie pulled out of the fight less than a month before the scheduled event. The fight was soon rescheduled. Lawal defeated Gracie via first-round knockout, handing him his first loss. After the victory, Lawal called for a rematch with "Feijao" Cavalcante. Lawal instead next signed to face prospect Lorenz Larkin, defeating Larkin via second round knockout with ground and pound. After the fight, Lawal tested positive for banned substances and his future with Strikeforce was uncertain. Bellator Run After the fight, Lawal departed Strikeforce and signed with Bellator and also Bellator's partner on Spike, TNA Wrestling as a pro wrestler. After performing his contract as a wrestler, Lawal signed to make his Bellator debut in the quarterfinals of the Bellator season eight light-heavyweight tournament against fellow promotional newcomer Przemyslaw Mysiala. Lawal knocked Mysiala out in the first round, advancing to the semifinals with the victory to face veteran Emanuel Newton. Despite Lawal having trained with professional boxer Floyd Mayweather, Newton proved to be the better striker knocking out an overconfident Lawal with a spinning back fist in the first round to earn the upset victory. Lawal was next rumored to return in the Bellator summer series light-heavyweight tournament. He was next set to face former Bellator light-heavyweight champion Christian M'Pumbu in the quarterfinals. Instead Lawal next fought UFC veteran Seth Petruzelli the "Kimbo Killer" in the quarterfinals. He retired Petruzelli with a brutal first round knockout. With the victory, Lawal advanced to the finals to fight bitter rival Jacob Noe. He defeated Noe via third round technical knockout to win the summer series tournament. Lawal next stepped in to replace an injured Attila Vegh to rematch Emanuel Newton for the interim Bellator light-heavyweight title on the first Bellator pay-per-view. Newton outpointed Lawal en route to a unanimous decision victory to become the first Bellator interim light-heavyweight champion. Lawal next signed to fight Mikhail Zayats in the quarterfinals of the season ten light-heavyweight tournament winning via a less-than-exciting unanimous decision. Lawal next fought former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson in the finals of the tournament in the main event of the actual first Bellator PPV. Jackson defeated Lawal via a controversial unanimous decision. Lawal next signed to fight Tom DeBlass but DeBlass was injured and replaced by journeyman Marcus Sursa. He instead fought undersized newcomer Dustin Jacoby TKOing Jacoby in the second round. Lawal next rattled off another pair of victories over Joe Vedepo and Cheick Kongo (in a heavyweight bout), winning via third round TKO and split decision respectively. Lawal next fought Linton Vassell in the semifinals of the Bellator one-night light-heavyweight tournament, defeating Vassell via unanimous decision to advance to the finals. Unfortunately Lawal couldn't continue to fight Phil Davis and was instead replaced by Francis Carmont. Lawal next made his Rizin debut defeating Brett McDermott via first round knockout in the openining round of the Rizin openweight grand prix. Two days later Lawal defeated Teodoras Aukstuolis and Jiri Prochazka in the same night via unanimous decision and first round knockout respectively, to win the tournament. Lawal next returned to Bellator to fight Phil Davis for the number-one contendership. Davis defeated Lawal via a less-than-memorable unanimous decision. Lawal next fought Satoshi Ishii winning another forgettable unanimous decision. Just days after the Ishii fight Lawal agreed to next step in to return to Rizin and replace Wanderlei Silva against Mirko Filipovic in the quarterfinals of the Rizin 2016 openweight grand prix. After a competitive fight the legend Filipovic defeated Lawal via second round TKO. Fights *Muhammed Lawal vs. Travis Wiuff - The fight, a heavyweight bout, was the MMA debut of Lawal. *Muhammed Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead - The fight was Muhammed Lawal's Strikeforce debut. *Gegard Mousasi vs. Muhammed Lawal - The fight was for the Strikeforce light-heavyweight championship with Gegard Mousasi defending. Lawal came into the fight undefeated. The fight broke Mousasi's fifteen fight win streak. *Rafael Cavalcante vs. Muhammed Lawal - The fight was for the Strikeforce light-heavyweight title with Lawal defending. The fight was Lawal's first loss. *Muhammed Lawal vs. Roger Gracie - The fight was Roger Gracie's first loss. *Muhammad Lawal vs. Przemyslaw Mysiala - The fight was the Bellator debut of Lawal. The fight was in the quarterfinals of the Bellator season eight light-heavyweight tournament. *Emanuel Newton vs. Muhammed Lawal 1 - The fight was in the semifinals of the Bellator season eight light-heavyweight tournament. *Muhammad Lawal vs. Jacob Noe - The fight was in the finals of the 2013 Bellator summer series light-heavyweight tournament. *Muhammed Lawal vs. Joe Vedepo *Muhammed Lawal vs. Linton Vassell - The fight was in the semifinals of the Bellator Dynamite light-heavyweight tournament. *Muhammed Lawal vs. Brett McDermott - The fight was in the opening round of the first-ever Rizin heavyweight grand prix. *Mirko Filipovic vs. Muhammed Lawal - The fight was in the quarterfinals of the Rizin openweight 2016 grand prix. Category:Strikeforce light-heavyweight champions Category:Light-heavyweight fighters Category:Bellator fighters